Revelations
by EleBell
Summary: Returning to Hogwarts for his fifth year, Harry has found a new determination to strike out on his own and prepare for his looming battle with Voldemort. Along the way he will find a teacher, a mentor and a friend in the unlikeliest of places./Re-write of SilverTongue with a lot more flow and maturity.
1. - Prologue - Coming Home

**I know the prologue is short. Please don't be discouraged, the chapters will get longer as the story continues.**

**All type in bold is either my notes or excerpts from OOTP.  
**

**...  
**

Dim light filtered through the rain splattered window of the smallest bedroom on the second floor of 4 Privet Dr. just a week until Harry could leave for his home at Hogwarts.

_Headquarters at Grimmauld Place are simply not safe, Harry._ Dumbledore had told him. _We cannot risk your safety and well being without the protection that your aunt's home provides. _At least the headmaster had the decency to refrain from calling this place his home. _We will have to take care this year to limit correspondence to and from both Privet Drive and Grimmauld Place._ Had resulted in a single one paragraph letter from Ron and Hermione which had given him zero information on them or the order's efforts. The few sneaks he'd had of the telly while cleaning up meals for the Dursleys had given him more information than anyone in the wizarding world seemed to think he needed. Seemily random home invasions and grisly murders with no suspects and no leads were rampant across the country. People were scared and still, they were not scared enough...had no idea what they were afraid of, and no way to help themselves.

Harry was restless. He was angry. He felt at fault and unable to do anything about it.

...

The week leading up to his departure for Hogwarts was quiet. The Dursleys had left him to his own devices this summer and the last week proved the same as the ones before. The few items that he did unpack from his trunk were replaced, most of the day was spent staring out the window or sitting in the back garden chatting with a small nest of tiny garden snake hatchlings and their mother. On rainy days he would bring all seven of them inside to sleep in his bedside drawer and toss dead flies to the hatchlings while the mother hunted.

...

Finally the day came to leave Little Whinging and Harry sat atop his trunk by the front door awaiting a taxi his uncle had called for. When it arrived he stuffed his trunk into the rear and stared out the window for the long trip. Harry had come to a conclusion on the night of his birthday that summer, he needed to step up his determination to be ready for Voldemort when the time came. His luck would run out one day and he needed to be prepared. Ron and Hermione could barely get two words out of him on the train and the carriage ride to the castle. Yes, he was very happy to see them. No, He was not angry with them for not writing. No, he was not depressed. Yes, he was sure.

As the trio filed into the Great Hall with the other students to await the first years Harry smiled. He was HOME.

...(**The sorting song is slightly changed in my version, a word or line here and there)**

**The whole school waited with bated breath as the rip near the hat's brim opened wide like a mouth and The Sorting Hat burst into song:**

**_In times of old when I was new_  
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**_And Hogwarts barely started  
_**

**_The founders of our noble school  
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**_Thought never to be parted:  
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**_United by a common goal,  
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**_They had the selfsame yearning,  
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**_To make the world's best magic school  
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**_And pass along their learning.  
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**_"Together we will build and teach!"  
_**

**_The founders then decided  
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**_And never did they dream that they  
_**

**_Would someday be divided,  
_**

**_For were there such friends anywhere _**

**_As Slytherin and Gryffindor?  
_**

**_Unless it was the other pair  
_**

**_Of Hufflupuff and Ravenclaw?  
_**

**_So how could it have gone so wrong?  
_**

**_How could such friendships fail?  
_**

**_Why, I was there so I can tell  
_**

**_The whole sad, sorry tale.  
_**

**_Said Slytherin, "We'll teach just those whose ancestry is purest."  
_**

**_Said Ravenclaw, "We'll teach all those whose intelligence is surest."  
_**

**_Said Gryffindor, "We'll teach all those with brave deeds to their names."  
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**_Said Hufflepuff, "I'll teach the lot and treat them all the same.  
_**

**_These differences did cause much strife  
_**

**_When first they came to light,  
_**

**_For now each four raised up their voice  
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**_And Hogwarts was divided.  
_**

**_Where six once stood, two had died  
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**_To stop the pointless fighting.  
_**

**_And buried deep, the shadows keep  
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**_The key for those Invited.  
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**_As silent guard, in times of need  
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**_Descendants shall appear.  
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**_Of the two who lost their lives,_**

**_To teach you fight the feared._**

**_Now she comes to set things right,  
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**_As one we'll stand United.  
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**_Right now The Sorting Hat is here,  
_**

**_And all now know the score:  
_**

**_I sort you into houses  
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**_Because that's what I'm for,_**

**_This year I'll go further,  
_**

**_Listen closely to my song:  
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**_Though condemned I am to split you  
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**_Still I worry that it's wrong,  
_**

**_Though I must fulfill my duty  
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**_And must quarter every year  
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**_Still I wonder whether sorting  
_**

**_May not cause that which I fear.  
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**_Oh know the perils, read the signs,  
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**_The warning history shows,  
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**_For our Hogwarts is in danger  
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**_From external, deadly foes.  
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**_We must unite inside her  
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**_Or we'll crumble from within  
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**_I have told you, I have warned you...  
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**_Let the sorting now begin.  
_**

**"Branched out a bit this year, hasn't it?" said Ron, his eyebrows raised._  
_**

**"It's right. I do wonder what the middle part about six and two dead and descendants was all about though." Harry replied  
**

**The Sorting hat usually confined itself to describing the different qualities looked for by each house and it's own role in sorting them. Harry could not ever remember the hat trying to give the school advice before.  
**

**...  
**

****The hat's song had struck something inside him and he felt as though something was going to happen this year that had not happened in a very long time in the wizarding world. If the hat's hints were to be interpreted as he guessed, Hogwarts could be united in a way that the magical world had never seen before. Harry smiles a small smile to himself as a warm knot of hope settled into his soul. He wanted the hat to be right. He needed it to be right. This war was killing their world and the proof was staring at him through the faces of the eleven year olds that came to Hogwarts this year.

There were fewer new students attending this year than he had ever seen. Twenty or so, if that and their names and houses eluded Harry as he stared at the head table and the new face he saw there. _She doesn't even look old enough to be a teacher. maybe 22 or 23 at most. The headmaster must be hard pressed to find new DADA teachers after the past few and their experiences here. _His attention turned to his classmates and he was drawn into relaxed conversation, smiling and laughing, but still in the back of his mind there lingered a new found determination to prepare himself for the future that awaited him. There was a new hope that fueled his motivation...and as he glanced again at the new teacher and caught her eye, there was a sneaking suspicion that Dumbledore had even more secrets that he might be planning to share this year.


	2. - Strange Beginnings

**In case you've read the first chapter already and didn't notice, The prologue has been altered as of 12/13/12 to include a very important sorting song from the hat.**

**Also: SilverTongue is being taken off the site since I'm replacing it with Revelations.  
**

**All things considered, I hope everyone that reads my story is enjoying it. Comments would be appreciated just to let me know if anyone thinks the story is worth continuing.  
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Sleep was never something Harry looked forward to. When he was growing up he had Dudley's torments to look forward to, and now at 15 he has Voldemort's torments to look forward to. Saying that he had woken up in a foul mood was an understatement. Restless nights filled with dream memories of a woman screaming or a boy dying...flashes of green light...and to top it all off a splitting headache every morning were beginning to weigh on Harry. The more he slept the lest rested he became.

Missing breakfast with his year mates and running to his first class to try fruitlessly to be there on time just added to his first day home starting off lousy. Hastily buttoning his robes he slowed to a halt with his hand on the knob of the DADA classroom to catch his breath and compose himself. _So much for good first impressions Harry._ he thought to himself as he turned the knob and stepped inside.

Harry's robes slid off one shoulder as he slumped against the door frame and stared at the empty classroom. _Great. Looks like today is going to be one of those_ days. He pulled out his schedule and looked it over carefully. He was in the right place at the right time, so where was everyone? Glancing about the deserted room he sighed and closed the door, headed back to Gryffindor Tower.

... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ...

_Harry could hear the rain pelting the roof of his master's new nest and the distant cries and screams of pain from the 'false humans' his master had told him of as he slowly slid along in the shadows of the hallways. He was heading to the light from a crack in the door at the very end where his master slept...he could small the fear coming from the room and it excited him as he made his way inside and pulled himself upright to slide into his master's lap to be stroked. _

_"Nagini, I have a tasy little traitor for you tonight." Came the harsh tones of his master "Narcissa does not wish her precious Dragon to join our noble cause. She has tried to run away with him to France and that is not acceptable"  
_

_Harry felt a rush of pleasure as his master scratched at the peeling skin between his eyes and stood with him to lay him on the lap of the fearful mother bound to the chair before him.  
_

_"Remember my dear Nagini, just a nip...I want her to feel pain for her attempted treachery. She will not be allowed the comfort of death just yet. Now, play nice with your new toy." With that, his master turned and smiled an evil smile, walking out of the room and closing the door behind him. He swiveled his head to stare into the frightened and tearful eyes of the woman before him, leaning close enough to taste her skin with a quick dart of his tongue and draw a whimper from her throat. It was always more fun when his master left his toys unbound so that he could stalk him, but this was good too. He leaned back and opened his mouth to hiss at the woman, he liked working them up before he struck. A strangled scream and_

_... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ...  
_"Harry! _HARRY!_" Ginny's voice shook him from the nightmare as he bolted upright on the couch in Gryffindor Tower. His breath came in short bursts and he clutched his head with both hands as though squeezing it would make the pain stop.

"Harry! You were hissing in your sleep...are you alright?"The sweet concern Ginny showed him did nothing for the self disgust he felt that moment. He stood and choked out a strangled "Just a nightmare." as he turned and climbed the stairs to the fifth year boy's dorm and the showers he desperately felt the need to get to.  
Ginny's concerned voice rang behind him as he nearly ran up the steps but he didn't hear the words. No, sleep was not something Harry looked forward to. He dreaded it and had just been given a vivid reminder of why he felt that way. Shedding his attire, Harry ran the water as hot as it could go and scrubbed his skin until it was raw as though he could rid himself of the evil he felt with the burning water and furious washing. He didn't know how long he stood there in the water, but when he finally made his way out and into the dorm he found Ron sitting on his bed waiting for him.

"Hey Harry"

"Hey Ron"

"You missed DADA this morning. No one could wake you for breakfast."

"Yeah. Sorry."

"It was brilliant. The new teacher took us all to the edge of the lake and taught us about water pixies. They're kinda cool, not at all like the cornish ones that dunce Lockheart set loose before."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah. So When I got back Ginny just about attacked me. She told me about waking you up, said she found you having a fit in your sleep when she came in."

"It wasn't a fit. It was just a stupid nightmare."

"Maybe you should talk to Dumbledore about it, Harry."

"I'm _fine_ Ron. It was just a stupid dream, like I said."

With that Harry, freshly dressed, turned and left the dorm and made his way to the fifth floor and the Charms classroom. He would be early but maybe the class wouldn't leave him and go gallivanting off to the lake this time. He pulled his robes tighter and crossed his arms over his chest as he immersed himself in thoughts of the dream that unnerved him so much. Why was he having dreams of being Nagini? Why would he dream of Narcissa trying to save Draco from becoming a Death Eater? None of it made any sense and as he wrapped himself in his thoughts is was not the charms classroom he found himself in front of, but the blank stretch of wall that disguised the Room of Requirement. Throwing his head back with a sigh Harry turned and started to make his way back two floors below to his original destination when a thought stopped him. _This is how I can do it. The Room of Requirement can provide everything I need to ready myself for Voldemort. _He turned a critical eye to the blank wall and smiled grimly. _Maybe here I can find a way to be strong enough."_

"Is that wall very interesting, Mr. Potter?" A soft feminine voice startled him out of his thoughts and he slowly turned to face it's owner. _The new teacher. I swear she wasn't there a minute ago when I was walking that way._ She pulled her strange knee length silver-purple hair over her shoulder and stared at him with equally strange violet eyes and a small smile that mocked him. I know what you're thinking...I know what you're doing..that smile seemed to say to him as she made her way leisurely toward where he stood. Something about this new teacher screamed dangerous to him and yet he didn't feel threatened and she trailed her fingers over the blank wall he had been staring at.

"You missed my lesson today, Mr. Potter. Is this wall what drew you away? It's very interesting. I can see why it would draw you here." As she drew her fingers away from the stone Harry saw a small spark of blue between her skin and the wall. She looked at him again with that all knowing smile that reminded him faintly of Dumbledore for some reason.

"No. I was late and by the time I got there the classroom was empty."

"Well, I do believe we can work out a time that you can make up the class. How would this afternoon once you're finished with your classes for the day sound?"

"You're letting me make up a class I missed?"

"Of course. I would do the same for any students that are willing."

"Thanks. I'll see you after classes then. Should I just go to the DADA classroom?"

"Yes. I'll walk you to the lake so you're not wandering the halls at night."

"Thanks again. I better get going before I miss Charms." He motioned over his shoulder and walked backwards toward the stairway.

"Five pm sharp, Mr. Potter. You should know I don't wait for tardy students"

"I'll be there. thanks again." Harry turned and made his way to Charms pondering over the chance meeting and planning on ways to utilize the Room of Requirement after his unexpected make-up class.


	3. - The First Revelation - Forgotten Times

**Again I feel like I have to apologize for the short chapters. Hopefully no one will hold it against me since I've been trying to get them out every two days. I'm channeling my muse hardcore at the moment. **

**Thank you all for reading and as always Reviews would be appreciated.  
**

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It was difficult for Harry to concentrate on his lesson all day. He had so many things flitting through his mind that he simply couldn't pay attention to any one thought. Should he tell Ron and Hermione about his plans to exploit the room of requirement? What, if anything, did his recent dreams where he embodied Voldemort's pet snake mean? Why was their new defense teacher acting so mysterious? Most importantly the unnerving absence of Draco Malfoy from all the double classes held with both Gryffindor and Slytherin weighed on him. His friends kept shooting him concerned glances and whispered inquires that he brushed off, but they poked and prodded and frayed his already sleep deprived nerves. Needless to say when the last class ended he was ready to get away from everybody and made excuses not to accompany his house mates to the tower. He headed, over an hour early toward the third floor and the DADA classroom. Hopefully he could have an hour to sit and think while he waited for the professor and he thought the time alone could give him a reprieve from the unexplained anxiety he felt. This year was starting off ominous and it didn't bode well, he felt as though something was about to happen that would turn his world upside down and if he'd learned anything in the past few years in the magical world...it was that his instincts rarely led him astray.

Soft yet frantic voiced greeted him as he turned the last corner into the hallway near his destination and he quietly made his way to the door. He couldn't make out what they were saying but as he pushed the door open the sight that greeted him was one he could barely believe. Draco Malfoy leaned casually against the professor's desk, grey eyes locked with his, equally shocked. Harry let his books fall to the ground at his feet as he stared between the two figures in the room in disbelief.

There was no self important smirk or haughty expression on Draco Malfoy's face as he stared back at Harry. He looked disheveled, hair astray, clothes rumpled and face drawn taught with worry or stress. Draco broke his gaze and looked to their professor, drawing himself away from the desk. Harry could feel the confusion welling up inside him mixing with anger, though he didn't know why. He had been unusually easily to anger for the past few months and now was no exception.

"You're Early Mr. Potter. Come, there are many things we must discuss. I hope you are not too adverse to Mr. Malfoy joining us this evening." His professor ushered him inside and into her office through a door to the left of the classroom where he and Draco both sat in plush chairs while she seated herself behind the desk that seperated them. "I'm afraid that our plans have changed, Harry. Instead of going through the same lesson your peers have today, yourself and Draco will be given seperate lessons by request of the headmaster."

"Why wouldn't Dumbledore tell us about this himself then?" Harry asked, voice laced with frustration.

"The Headmaster is busy with things more important than you Potter."

"What do you know about it, Malfoy?"

"Obviously more than you do."

The stinging sound of skin on wood rang through the room as the fierce woman before them rose from her chair and sent a withering glare through them both. "If this is going to work then you two will need to make an effort to _get along_. I won't stand idly by while you both indulge in petty insults. These lessons will be very important to you both and I don't have the time to teach you each on your own. Both of you have been exposed to this war earlier than your peers and both of you are far more deeply involved than you know yet. I have been given the responsibility of training you and I would appreciate it if you didn't make my job any more difficult than it needs to be. I have over eight hundred years of knowledge to cram into your thick skulls and little more than three years to do it in."

Harry and Draco sat in stunned silence, feeling sufficiently belittled by those flaming violet eyes.

"Both of you will meet me tomorrow morning morning 6'oclock sharp on the north landing of the seventh floor for our first...revelation." With that, their professor stood and left them alone in the office , shutting the door behind her.

"I spent over an hour with that woman and still never managed to get her name." Draco's voice was soft, seeming to be a thought spoken aloud and not meant for Harry to hear, but still he replied just as softly. "Me either." They glanced at each other and words were exchanged through a glance but left unspoken. Years of childish rivalry seemed to melt away with a war looming over them. The ongoing conflict was made just a bit more real for them both tonight and in that moment a tentative spark of trust, fueled by the hope of a better world and a new found maturity in each young man, began to form. Draco reached a hand between them and Harry grasped it. Neither smiled as they went their separate ways to their own parts of the castle. One above, one below...and at last they had met in the middle. They came to an unspoken agreement that things needed to change, they needed to change, if either were going to hope for change in their world.

... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ...

The next morning found both young men on the north landing of the seventh floor clutching identical letters from the headmaster excusing them from all classes. They were to be privately instructed in all subjects by Professor Aryia Massuomi. They exchanged their letters and both smiled.

"We got her name." Draco said.

"So we did."

... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ...

They didn't have to wait long for Prof. Aryia to meet them. She briskly escorted them to a stretch of wall that Harry was very familiar with. The room of requirement. Draco's puzzled expression only made Harry chuckle as their teacher paced back and forth before them. Grey eyes turned to him and he just shook his head. "You'll see. Just give her a moment." The door appeared and puzzlement turned to curiosity in those eyes as Draco turned to Aryia.

They walked into an empty room, void of any furnishings and lit only by a dozen candles on the far end near the wall.

Aryia scanned the room and took a deep breath, striding to them as she crossed her arms began to pace, eyes filled with despair before drifting closed as she remembered things long forgotten.

"Things are not always as they seem, consider this an unofficial lesson in life and reality. Many things from the history of the wizarding world are a mystery to all those in it, they are not written in any textbook and they are not meant to be remembered, that is how these things go sometimes." She drew in a deep breath and opened her eyes, arms still crossed over her breast she turned to face away from their gazes. Her voice was loud and steady as she launched into her story.

"The history of Hogwarts as you know it is not the full story. In times of war, when the world is in danger of extinction, one of us appear. By 'us' I mean one of my race, we are a mostly forgotten and lost race, but nowhere near extinct, or even in danger of it, just expertly hidden. We have always been the protectors and the teachers of mankind, we've seen the birth, death and rebirth of time over and over again. Always we are the guardians of magic, and the way we use magic is very different from wizards and witches, therefore is fascinates us." A small smile graced her lips at the last part as she turned to face them.

"If we, my race, were to be discovered…well, we'd be hunted by many and we are already in much danger, there are constant wars between different covens and clans amongst ourselves and we simply cannot afford to be hunted."

"I feel you must know that once this war is over and I have left, you and a very small group of others will be the only ones to remember the things you will learn during my stay. Oldest magic is done to ensure this, it will prevent you from telling any whom are not adorned with my mark. There are secrets of time that I will teach you both and they must stay as such. I am not here to be all powerful and I am certainly not all knowing or infallible. I am not here to win your war for you. I am here to teach and train you so you can win it. I will most likely watch over you and protect you from unnecessary dangers, but I will only fight if my people, or my family are in danger or threatened in extenuating circumstance, I will most likely stay out of most of the conflict in this war."

"And now, you shall get the story that you deserve, the real and true history of Hogwarts by her own memory." She walked slowly to the center of the room and crouching she placed two fingers on the stone floor and stood, drawing with her as she stood a column of multi-colored energy from the ground. When she was at her full height she flung her left arm into the air and the column of energy exploded the three found themselves in darkness for a few moments.

A dim light, the sound of rain, and they were all in a field, stretching as far as the eye could see, a massive lake of dark water stretched across the east of the field and a battle aged on the ground, wizards and muggles, creatures of all sorts were on both sides. Blade on blade rending flesh from bone and limb from body, magic flashing in the rain, blood coated the ground and they fought. A flash of purple-tinted silver hair and they all watched as Aryia fought ruthlessly, felling all those who crossed her path she wielded twin katanas, her hair pulled from her face, eyes cold and steely, face blood spattered and smeared with things Draco and Harry would rather not think about. She looked dangerous and frightening as she disappeared into the fray nearly as soon as she had appeared, fighting alongside so many others.

They watched and knew that all on this field were fighting for a cause that no one remembered and they knew they were standing on the ground where Hogwarts would eventually be built. They couldn't tell you how they knew this, they just did.

The scene changed no longer bloody and raining, a dozen figures stood in the middle of the field now. They watched as the group of creatures and humans spoke, watched as one human stormed off, and knew-though they could not hear- that they were coming to an agreement.

No more would they fight as they had, shed so much blood for a forgotten cause, they would live in alliance. They knew that the one whom had stormed off had been the muggle and there had begun the separation of technology and magic, a rift that would become commonplace and the only grudge left after this morning. They watched as the agreement was sealed with timeless magic and most went their own way, all but two. A woman with Purple-tinted silver hair and a man with long graying hair and a beard to match. They now knew, this was not Aryia that they had watched in fearless battle, there were subtle differences, a child in her arms now, they saw their teacher a small infant in her mother's arms and Merlin himself. They were to build Hogwarts, Merlin and this woman.

Again the scene changed and now Hogwarts was built, they were inside the great hall, but it was different. Lengthened now, it was almost twice the size of the hall Harry and Draco now knew. At the entrance, a stairwell appeared. Built directly into the wall and leading diagonally upward to lead into a walkway all the way around the entire hall, with no railings on it and almost four yards wide. The head table sat on the second level of a platform of three levels with a stairwell in the middle, from each level to the next. There were no house tables. Instead the room was filled with small square tables sitting six or eight each.

this was the original state of Hogwarts, it seemed. The woman and Merlin were both there, along with another man with long black hair and Aryia's eyes. She was there as well, and four others. Rowena Ravenclaw, Salazar Slytherin, Godric Griffindor, Helga Hufflepuff, Aryia Massuomi and her parents along with Merlin gathered in the center of the hall and raised their arms. A flash of many colors and a misty figure stood before them, The figure smiled and faded. Hogwarts was born, created by the eight people, Hogwarts now had a mind and a soul all her own.

They all watched as Meriln and Aryia's parents were called away, only for news to return that they had died. They watched as the last five opened the school, they watched as there were good and bad times through the past and eventually seven of the eight founders died and the remaining one, Aryia, left the school. They watched as the eight faded into legend. They watched as four of them were forgotten their parts. They watched as Aryia came back and left again, many times. They watched as each time she was forgotten by but a few. Finally, they watched as she came now, and they watched themselves now, and they were back in the present, and Aryia lay unconscious before them.


	4. - Options

**So...Life is crazy. **

**Anywho, I have no Beta so I'm sorry for the typos and such, i'll try harder to re read and edit better from now on. Just re-read the last three chapters and I noticed all the little things like missing letters and spacing and grammar oopsies. sorry about all that. **

**Things to know: I'm an easily inspired but also easily discouraged writer...so nudges from readers make me update faster, sometimes the same day. No reviews or favs/follows makes me get discouraged and I update a lot slower...basically..Review and I'll update within three days and no reviews means it might take a month. Not trying to pressure anyone, just letting everyone know about that little personality quirk. **

_**LOVE ALL REVIEWS POSITIVE AND NEGATIVE.**_

_**Please, if you have anything to suggest about where you'd like the story to go or things you'd like to see or not see then leave a suggestion. All I ask is that everyone be polite please.  
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Harry held his head in his hands as a wave of dizziness washed over him and he tried to stay standing. He glanced over at Draco, the blonde wasn't fairing much better. Draco's head was bent and his arm outstretched, he leaned his weight against the wall with one fist clenched at his side. Harry felt that he should say something or do something to help their professor but the shock of the past few minutes hadn't passed and he couldn't seem to make his body do what he told it to.  
His vision was whiting in and out every time he blinked, not even giving his eyes a chance to focus before he was blinded again, the pressure in his head and ringing in his ears left him disoriented and uneasy.44

A groan came from the middle of the room as Professor Massuomi rolled onto her stomach and rose to a kneeling position on the ground with a deep sigh.

"Magic like that can take a lot out of you. Give it a moment and you'll both be fine." She said, rubbing a hand over her face and dragging herself off the floor. She Leaned her back against the wall opposite Draco and hung her head. "I know you must both have many questions about what you've seen, however, right now is not the time to answer them. Choices must be made before you learn any more than you already know and this is not the place to discuss such things." Pushing away from the wall she strode steadily toward the door. Still mostly disoriented both boys stumbled out the door after her as she led the way through the corridor and down the stairwells.

"Come. We shall retire to my quarters, two adjoining rooms have been added for you temporarily. Eventually you will be prepared your own rooms or you will go back to your separate dorms depending on the outcome of your decisions tonight." She said glancing back at the two of them over her shoulder as they walked.

Harry, head pounding wished that she would slow down. He was still trying to absorb what he saw in the room of requirement and form a coherent thought. He could not quite decide how he felt about the new information he had and she suddenly throws out that they're not going back to the dorms for an unspecified amount of time. With a small sigh he stopped trying to think and focused on the pounding in his skull, willing it to lessen so that he could begin to process his thoughts and feelings into coherent questions since apparently there was to be a drawn out conversation tonight about it.

Draco stared at the back of Harry's head as he walked, his own headache mostly dissipated already. He wondered how the other boy felt about having his beliefs shattered. Draco had accepted most of it easily, he was eager for an alternative to the life his family had chosen for him. He had spent years accepting blindly everything his parents told him without question but over the summer he had seen things that made him question that way of life. He shook his head and shut his eyes trying to shake off the memories of the things he had seen. A life of servitude under Voldemort was not something to be proud of.

Forming his own opinions had been confusing for him and he was still trying to sort himself out, He felt trapped...he'd decided that he wanted to live his own life and make his own decisions for himself but doing that came with a mountain of political repercussions he wasn't sure he knew how to take care of, let alone live through, knowing what his father's reaction to his new found independence could bring upon him. He knew he needed to set aside the often dangerous rivalry he and Harry had developed but when something became habit the way his actions toward the other boy had...even when the seed of hate was planted in him by his own father... starting over is still difficult to do.

Draco wasn't even sure if Harry would give him the chance to start over after all the horrible things he had done over the last few years. Even if the other boy decided to ignore his pompous proclamations of his own pureblood superiority, Draco still couldn't see a time where he could forgive himself for it. He had been gullible and let his own family brainwash him. Seeing the final end to the tornado of questions and repercussions, the emotions and new opinions in his mind was almost impossible.

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The trio arrived at their teacher's rooms and were led into a sparse sitting room. One couch, two chairs and a small table in the middle of the three all facing a plain fireplace. Prof. Massuomi waved them to sit, taking one of the armchairs for herself and waving her hand at the table, conjuring a tray with food and a japanese style tea set, gesturing for them to help themselves to it.

"Eat. Trust me, it will make you feel better." She told them.

Both young men took seats on opposite sides of the couch and took a small plate of food and a cup of tea each, relaxing into the surprisingly plush cushions and looking to the professor to begin. She back and forth between their faces and looked away with a sigh. Staring out the small window behind them she set her cup down on the table and clasped her hands in her lap.

"Normally you would not have been thrown into those memories with no warning the way you were. Circumstances being what they are at the moment, I don't have a lot of time to teach you two what you need to know." Her face was weary and serious as she continued. "What I need from you both is a decision. I've already told you that my race is hidden from this world, and that our existence must remain that at. At least for now. The choice I'm asking of you both is one that you must know every detail and consequence of before you make it. You both will be given adjoined rooms here in my quarters for two weeks. Normally I would give you years to make this choice, but yet again, circumstance does not permit formality right now." She stood walked to the fireplace, standing before it and waving her hand in lazy circles that made shapes in the flames.

"You have two choices after the next two weeks are over. Either you will go back to your respective dorm to your friends and forget everything that might happen in the next while... Or you will be given the chance to take my mark." She made a complicated pattern with her fingers and in the center of the fire a six point star surrounded by a thin circle that touched each point. "What each choice means for you is the reason you have two weeks to stay with me. While you're both here you will learn everything I can tell you about the meaning of my mark, and the expectations that come with taking it." She turned to face them again and a small smile touched her lips. "For now though, you should both rest. You'll find all your things in the two rooms down the hall to your right. Try to get some rest, boys...we have a lot to do in the morning"

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The first thing the two noticed was that they would be sharing a room. It was a large room, with a full sized plush bed on each side, very different from the four poster beds in their dorms. Their belongings were lined on shelves and desks on the far wall, with a ceiling to floor window separating them. Each had a wardrobe closet close to the foot of their beds with all their clothes hanging in it and laid out on the desks each boy found a strange set of robes each. Soft to the touch and lighter than anything they had ever felt the boys shook them out to see them closer. Both of the garments were silver, with a crimson embroidery of the mark Prof. Massuomi had shown them in the fire and the edges trimmed in a royal purple. Harry and Draco exchanged shrugs and hung the robes on the chairs of the desks, readying themselves for bed.

As Draco lay in his new bed, staring at the ceiling he couldn't slow his mind down from everything that had happened today. He was excited and thrilled but couldn't shake the feeling that it all seemed unreal. 'How often do things like this really happen?' He wondered. 'A chance to start ove and be part of something important...and to get the choice to do it or not? It all just seems a little too good to be true.' Draco couldn't shake his apprehension and paranoia. As he drifted off to sleep struggling with all his new thoughts he resigned himself to try and keep an open mind and let things play out to the end before he made up his mind over anything he felt.

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Reviews are appreciated, I'd like to know what everyone thinks so far so I can tweak the story as needed along the way.


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